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Earn CME for Training the Next Generation of PAs

Physician assistant programs may now become eligible to award Category 1 CME to their preceptors—a major step toward boosting the number of preceptors at programs and, in turn, the number of new PAs.

The number of accredited PA programs is rising fast, but schools’ limited access to preceptors is widely recognized as a barrier to the profession’s growth. Clinical preceptors—who include licensed healthcare providers such as physicians, PAs and nurse practitioners—open up their practices to students and educate them on the proper clinical evaluation and treatment of patients.

In a 2011 Physician Assistant Education Association (PAEA) survey of more than 11,700 clinically active PAs, 63 percent of respondents identified the potential ability to earn Category 1 CME as the most important benefit of precepting.

In response, the American Academy of Physician Assistants’ (AAPA) Professional Education Commission has approved a process for individual PA programs to award AAPA Category 1 CME credit for clinical teaching.